Saturday, February 28, 2009

Tonight we enjoyed dinner with my dad and step-mom. While we were waiting for the food to be brought out, the kids were the main source of entertainment. We showed off that each one of them now knows their birth dates.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Not unlike many others in St. Louis, we also spent Saturday celebrating Mardi Gras. The biggest difference is that we did not have "grown up drinks" or anyone running around flashing (at least not related to any celebrations.)

We did have plenty of beads on hand, homemade gumbo and party masks.

In keeping with true Mardi Gras style, Baby Bear decided to pee someplace other than the toilet.

I heard a substantial splash coming from the bathroom, so I went in to check it out. Much to my surprise, I found a nekkid son, standing in front of the toilet with his rinse cup covering his man parts. When I asked what in the world he was doing, he replied "Peeing in a cup."

Of course...

Some days it's best to just go with the obvious and not ask questions.

TWO HOURS - I should get an award alone for dedicated that amount of time to something other than reading or wasting time online.

When I was coming home this week from a business trip, I scammed this month's People magazine Country double issue (btw, I may start volunteering at the local airport to clean planes. I was like a kid in a candy store with all of the left behind magazines. I'm pretty sure I have every periodical published for the month of February.) The magazine had knock off recipes for Girl Scout cookies. Knowing how much A. loves the samoas, I decided to whip up a batch for Valentine's Day.

I'm not a fan of coconut and I'm not sure A. actually enjoyed them. I kept hearing comments like "Wow, they are really rich" and "do you think you made them too big", but whatever, they looked amazing.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

In my family, nearly all of my grandma's did not go by the traditional title of Grandma. I have a Nanny, a Granny and a MeMe. Since my Granny and MeMe passed away long before I had kids, I really haven't had conversations with the kids about my grandparents. I think they are too young to really understand death right now, so I just haven't gone there.

But recently, Mooka has started calling me MeMe. We aren't really sure where it came from, but she has taken to just using that name to refer to me.

An interesting side note, is that the name MeMe for my grandma was the result of my mom calling her mom a "meanie" in her late teen years and my young cousin interpreting the name in his own way. So...MeMe just stuck.

All last week while I was traveling and called home, she would greet me with a loud "MEME!" She did it again last night when they all picked me up at the airport.

I'm completely fascinated with how she has come up with this name. It makes me want to learn more about genetics.

Or maybe it has nothing to do with genetics and maybe it's my MeMe's way of checking in to let me know she's watching :)

Monday, February 9, 2009

This weekend, as we were gathered around the table eating lunch and watching tv (we've already defined that I may have some opportunities in my parenting abilities.)

So anyway...this commercial comes on.

Mooka started asking questions right away about what was going on in the commercial, but Baby Bear just kept his eyes glued to the tv. We explained that no one took care of the animals in the video and some mean people hurt the animals. When the commercial finished, BB turns to us, big brown eyes full of big tears and says, "Why didn't someone want to take care of those animals."

I don't think I've ever been brought to tears so quickly in my entire life.

Of course, I scooped him up and gave him a hug all the while trying to assure him that someone was in fact now taking care of those animals.

He's such a little sweetheart.

However, his first words to me at 6 morning were "Get me some juice, some fruit snacks and turn on Noggin." We're still working on being a sweetheart before 8 a.m.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

As I’ve mentioned before, it is sometimes difficult being a Christian working mom. Especially if your “working” profile, means more than putting in 15 hours a week as a cashier. The path I’ve chosen means working 50 – 60 hours a week and constantly being “on call”. I also wouldn't change what I do to stay at home. I was not wired for that role. Bottom line, I feel like I do not fit in with other Christian women.

Last night, I went to an all women service at church. The message was about priorities and aligning those with how the Bible commands that we live. In theory a pretty simple concept:1) God2) Family3) Everything else

When the speaker asked how many people in the group (around 100 of us), work outside of the home, there were maybe 10 of us who raised our hands. I felt like a complete outcast. I don’t think any part of the message was intended to be condemning. But as the message continued, I also continued to feel less and less like I could be a good Christian woman because of my life style.

Complete with the self defeating voices in my head, I left the meeting feeling like a failure. No where in those priorities does “be the primary bread winner” fit into the picture.

If you take religion out of the mix, I think working moms still face the pressure of feeling like we have to be able to do it all. What’s worse is we’ve been conditioned that it is a sign of weakness to admit that we can’t possibly do it all.

But that cannot possibly be right.

So this has been on my mind all day. I believe I can love God and my family and still maintain a professional career. In fact, I see my career as my opportunity to help be a witness to other women who are struggling to do it all. The only way I am able to manage everything is by God’s grace.

And let me be very transparent here, I am not a perfect Christian. I have spent most of my adult life making some very big mistakes. But I know that I want to improve my life so I can be a better wife, mother, friend and leader. We all have to start somewhere. I just wish I had more role models and peer support along the way.

If you are reading this and are in a similar inward battle, I would love to hear how you make things work.